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Call for Papers "Multiculturalism, modernity and citizenship in Canada" Interdisciplinary Conference Marc Bloch University Strasbourg (France) 9-10 November 2007 __________________________________________________ The Royal Commission on Bilingualism and Biculturalism established in 1963 was primarily concerned with the relations between the French and the English, defined as the founding races of Canada, while paying some attention to the other ethnic groups. However, this attempt at redefining the national community and a sense of togetherness within the Canadian Confederation ignored the Aboriginal peoples. In 1971, the shift of emphasis in the political discourse from the notion of bi- to that of multi-culturalism was meant to be more representative of the cultural and ethnic diversity of Canadian society. However, this new brand of multiculturalism was soon criticized for being, on the one hand, essentialist in terms of identities, and on the other hand, for overlooking the socio-economic as well as political issues at stake. From the 1990s on, the Canadian multicultural discourse has increasingly focused on the concept of citizenship, which has in turn meant insisting more on the notion of unity and less on that of diversity. Should this be interpreted as a step backward from multiculturalism taken as an ideology and as a policy? >>From a European perspective, what lessons can be learnt at a time when a growing number of countries are adopting a multicultural terminology and the European Union needs to negotiate a balance between unity and diversity? Should the emergence of a modern form of citizenship be interpreted as the advent of hybrid identities or as a step towards a certain social and cultural anomy? What are then the prospects for multiple identities within a plural nation? In order to answer these questions, the papers presented should seek to explore and perhaps transcend the following dichotomies between individual and collective rights, integration and assimilation, the public and private spheres, nation in the singular and in the plural, as well as unity and pluralism. Through an interdisciplinary and transversal approach, combining ethnology, sociolinguistics, political science and educational studies we will try to analyze how multicultural citizenship translates in practice in the fields of political and institutional organization, of intellectual property as well as in terms of cultural, linguistic and educational rights. Comparative perspectives with European situations are welcome in so far as they shed light on the debate pertaining to the specificities of Canadian multiculturalism. Presentations and discussions will be organized around three workshops: - Citizenship, multiculturalism and identities. The modernity of Canadian society - Nation or nations? What citizenship for the aboriginal native peoples of Canada? - Linguistic pluralism and citizenship: theory, policy and practice Submissions deadline: April 15th 2007 Please send your submissions (500-700 words), in French or in English, by email to Gwendolyne Cressman. A scientific committee composed of members of the organizing research groups will meet in the spring 2007 in order to study the submissions. Contact: Gwendolyne Cressman Research Center "Recherches sur le monde anglophone" Marc Bloch University 22 rue René Descartes F-67084 Strasbourg France Email: [email protected] Web: http://etudescanadiennes.free.fr/ __________________________________________________ InterPhil List Administration: http://interphil.polylog.org Intercultural Philosophy Calendar: http://cal.polylog.org
